I remember the day Rumble was announced, because Wukong was shown for the first time only a few hours later. And because Rumble’s sneak peek looked completely stupid; I mean, he had the dumbest expression on his face (and he still does, as far as classic art goes!). Don’t worry Rumble, you’re still awesome.

So awesome in fact that I’ve been playing you way too much lately. Rumble’s probably my favorite of what I’m going to call “AP bruisers.” Big, tough guys who don’t necessarily deal burst damage like a combo-caster (Malzahar, Annie, etc), but more sustained, long-term damage. They can usually take a hit, too. I’d have to say that Rumble is the easiest AP bruiser to play. He doesn’t rely on a cast-from-HP mechanic like Mordekaiser and his main form of CC, while only a slow, doesn’t require too much target-leading like Swain’s Nevermove. It helps that he has a really fun kit.

Let’s talk about that kit! Flawless segue, yeah? Anyway, Rumble can do pretty much anything. Damage, eat hits, slow people; he’s got it all. Flamespitter is incredibly satisfying and makes farming a breeze (although don’t rely on it or you’ll end up pushing like crazy). Scrap Shield, especially at higher levels, makes him a pain to catch and an even bigger pain to kill. Electro-Harpoon is probably my least favorite part of the kit. I’ve never really noticed it do much and Scrap Shield seems to be better for chasing, anyway. The Equalizer, in my opinion, has probably the best targeting mechanic in the game and allows for so much versatility when it comes to catching someone or nailing a kill from faraway. Rumble’s passive, Junkyard Titan, is super-satisfying to use. Overheating turns you into a tower-crushing machine, especially late game. To be perfectly honest, I’d love for Heat to come back on a new champion, but I’m not sure what else they could do.

When it comes to builds, I’ve been experimenting with the order, but my core is Rabbadon’s Deathcap, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, and Hextech Gunblade. Now, I don’t claim to be anything more than a sub-900 ELO player (half of it is being unprepared, half is from not playing ranked much) who plays this thing way too much, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I alwaysstart with boots and three potions (unless I’m going for an early philosopher stone). After that, depending on how well I’m doing, I go for either Rylai’s Crystal Scepter or Rabbadon’s Deathcap. From my experience, getting some early tankiness is more important than a ton of AP. You’re not your team’s carry (hopefully) and if you get melted every fight, then you might as well not be there. If you’re not doing too well, you could probably grab a Heart of Gold early on to make up for it. After you’ve got some tankiness, I like building Hextech Gunblade and Rabbadon’s Deathcap. Everything else seems to be luxury after that.

As far as my skilling order goes, I always get and max Flamespitter first, just because the damage potential is great and it keeps people away from you. Depending on how the lane is going, I’ll go for either Scrap Shield or Electro-Harpoon next. I normally go Scrap Shield, because extra ranks in Harpoon never seemed to have too great of an effect. … And I kind of suck at aiming it, but that’s just me. As always, get your ultimate whenever possible. My only real advice outside of this is to keep your Heat level in mind; don’t blow everything just before a teamfight and overheat, because a Flamespitter might get your team some kills. I do, however, recommend overheating if you’re wanting to beat down a tower. Junkyard Titan is crazy.

So, yeah. I’d say pick up Rumble if you’re really into tanky AP dudes like Mordekaiser, but want a different experience or don’t want to be tied down by mana or health. He’ll take some getting used to, especially because of heat, but he’s super-fun to play so give him a shot. As always, thanks for reading and have a good’un.